Natural Bridge Created by Nature

With enemies hot on their heels, the Monacan Indians ran into a dead
end. All seemed lost when they saw a huge canyon draped in fog blocking
their escape. Falling to their knees, the Monacans called upon the Great
Spirit to save his children.

When they looked up, the fog had lifted and a gigantic stone bridge
now spanned the impassable chasm. Crossing safely to the other side, the
Monacans watched as their pursuers turned back, afraid that the
wondrous arch might not support their weight as it had the Monacans.
Thereafter, the Monacans called this revered gift "The Bridge of God."

"That's the legend," said Don Henk, assistant general manager at the
Natural Bridge. "There are so many stories and so much history about the
bridge. It is really one of our natural wonders."

Through millions of years, nature has crafted the awesome bridge
using a simple mountain stream as a tool. Cedar Creek slowly wore away
the stone on its way towards the sea.

No one knows who and when European colonists discovered the Natural
Bridge. The landmark was probably "officially" discovered around the
16th century, Henk said. After all, the first permanent English
settlement in the New World was in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia, by the
James River 340 miles from the bridge.

GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS HERE

The earliest documentation of Natural Bridge was in the 1742 diary of
settler John Peter Sallings. A youthful George Washington, engaged by
Lord Fairfax to survey his property, is said to have been an early
visitor to Natural Bridge.

"George Washington is supposed to have been the first to survey it in
1750. It is said that Washington left his initials ‘G.W.' cut into the
wall of the bridge," Henk said, gesturing to initials outlined in a
white rectangle. The initials are carved about 23 feet above Cedar Creek
on the southeast side of the bridge.

Shortly thereafter, Thomas Jefferson saw and fell in love with the
great stone monument, calling it "the most sublime of Nature's works."
In 1774, Jefferson purchased the bridge from King George III for 20
shillings.

"Thomas Jefferson didn't believe the government should own such a
treasure," Henk said. "He felt that it should be in private ownership so
that someone would be accountable for it and would preserve it for all
to see."

In 1803, Jefferson had a one-room log cabin built near the site of
the current hotel, keeping one room available for visitors. He kept a
logbook in the cabin to record visitors and their comments. Among
signers in the book were Henry Clay, Daniel Boone, Sam Houston, Andrew
Jackson, Thomas Hart Benton, John Marshall, James Monroe and Martin Van
Buren.

"The early Europeans who would come to America would go see Niagara
Falls and Natural Bridge," Henk said. "Those were the two natural
wonders that visitors wanted to see."

When Jefferson died in 1826, ownership of the bridge passed down to
his heirs. It remained in the family until 1835 when Jefferson's heirs
sold the bridge to Joel Lackland for $1,500. Natural Bridge has remained
in private ownership ever since.

Over the years, Natural Bridge has been commemorated in numerous
photographs, paintings and writings. Noted American folk artist Edward
Hicks used the bridge as the background for his popular 1830s painting,
"Peaceable Kingdom."

In his 1851 classic novel, "Moby Dick," Herman Melville described the
great white whale as rising from the deep, "for an instant his whole
marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia's Natural Bridge, and
warningly waving his bannered flukes in the air, the grand god revealed
himself, sounded and went out of sight."

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

Today the Shenandoah Valley wonder continues to draw people from
around the world and has developed into a popular complex with a
conference center, 180-room inn, restaurant, gift shop, snack bar,
cabins, Natural Bridge Caverns, Cedar Creek Nature Trail and Native
American Monacan Village.

"Our goal in the village is to educate people as to what life was
like for the Monacans in 1725," said Christopher Taylor, demonstrating
how the Native Americans would have prepared their food and what they
would have eaten. "The No. 1 food was deer, second was turkey, third was
turtle, fourth was elk and fifth was bear."

About 90 to 110 people would live in an average village, Taylor said.
A typical lodge would be covered with cattail plants to keep the
structure warm and dry. "We built this one 10 years ago and have done
very little maintenance to it," Taylor said. "It was covered with 37,000
cattails and we added 75 cattails last year."

Carved into the limestone hill, Natural Bridge Caverns is noted for
being the deepest commercial caves on the east coast. The caverns drop
347 feet - 34 stories - below the surface where the temperature remains a
cool 54 degrees.

"People have been coming here for so long that we don't know who
discovered the caverns or when," said guide Tom Price. "It's an
important place for bats. About 3,500 bats winter here every year."

The 45-minute cavern tour includes such structures as the Colossal
Dome room, Mirror Lake, Well Room and stalactites and stalagmites
growing in the Canyon Room.

As darkness falls, Natural Bridge becomes the star of an awesome
light, narration and music show. A longtime tradition, "The Drama of
Creation" has been enjoyed since President Calvin Coolidge first pressed
the button in 1927 to start the 45-minute show on the theme of the
biblical creation.

In today's high-tech world, the simple illumination can still bring
chills as lights play across the towering rocks and night birds add to
the symphony.